LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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Shelf ..aC_J 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



NOV 15 1883 



HEART'S OWN 



VERSES 



BY 



r 



EDWIN RrCHAMPLIN 




CHICAGO 

CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 

1886 



.Co 



Copyriglit, 188G, 

Py EDWIN R. (JHAMPLIK 

uiU Rights Reserved. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Prefatory Note ..... ix 

Memories ...... 11 

A Lover's Mood 12 

A Lost Boy ..... lo 
Defense . . . • . . .15 

Dying at Eighty . . . . . 15 

On a Friend's Ivetuni . . . . 1<S 

Inheritance . . . . . , 19 
Love's Faithfulness . . . .2!) 

Loss and Salvation . . . . 21 

When Need is Greatest , . . " . 21 

A Faded Flower 22 

Barriers . . . . . . .24 

Reunion ...... 25 

A Prayer ...... 2(> 

An Old Story 27 

The Things a Little Child Can Do . . 28 

Silent Trust ...... 29 

A Rhyme of Duty .... 30 

A Day ... . :n 

The Lost Messenger . , , . Ml 

Love's Death ...... 32 

A Song of God's Comfort „ ' . 33 

To D. G. R „ .34 



iv Heart's Own. 

A Victor's Message .... 35 
The Wanderer . . . . .35 

A Wanderer's Prayer . , . . 3& 

Attitude 3& 

To a Fellow-worker .... 37 

The Kecall 38 

Transgression ..... 39 

Vanished Lights . . . . .40 
To a Kose's Remains .... 41 

In May 42 

Criteria ...... 43 

Waiting for Love . . . . .44 

After the Vanishing .... 45 

On a Glimpse (from my Window in May) . 46 
A Prisoner ...... 47 

In the Hollow of Thy Hand . 48 

The Gift of Years 48 

Remembered . • . . . .49 
If Thou Shuttest Thine Ear . . 50 

A Motto 50 

Confidence ...... 61 

Growth ....... 52 

Wordswortli . .... 53 

Hearing ....... 54 

Shelter 55 

A Thought after a Petition . .56 

Praise ....... 56 

Provision ..-...• 57 



Contents. v 

The Wakened Heart 59 

Two CJrowths ..... 60 

The King's Daughter . . . .GO 

Grant 61 

A Word to O. W. 11 62 

Living Waters ..... 63 

Influence . . . ... . .64 

Mary . 65 

Hope 66 

On Seeing a Boy Playing Clappers . 66 

Christma.s Morning . . , . .67 

Man's Part 68 

The Discovery . . „ . . 69 



Out of mij heart I send you forth ^ O tender- 
thoughted crew, 

And may you find a resting-place in hearts 
I never haew. 



NOTE. 

Most of the pieces in this book have not 
bdcn published ; those which have been will 
doubtless be readily recognized by most 
readers. My aim in bringing these together 
has been to present a representative collec- 
tion of my later verse. The fact that the 
collection contains some pieces of very little 
consequence should be considered in the 
light of this reflection. I thank all who 
have aided me in bringing out the volume, 
including the J. B. Lippincott Company, 
who kindly granted the use of " A Lover's 
Mood," on which they own the copyright. 



MEMORIES. 

MUSIC I've heard, I liear you still,— 
I shall hear you again, — 

I shall hear you forever iii heaven ! 

sweet I have breath'd, I breathe you uow, — 
I shall breathe you till death, — 

I shall hold all your fragrance forever ! 

skies I have seen, I see you yet, — 
I shall see you again, — 

I shall see you when new sight is given ! 

thoughts that were dear, I have you still, — 
I shall have you again, — 

For your music, your breath, and your 
skies depart never 1 



12 Ilcarfs Oivn. 



A LOVER'S MOOD. 

O LIPS, be still, and let the heart make speech: 
Her lightest thought is far beyond your reach. 
And, worldly \7isd0m, unto faith give sway: 
Your brightest light but darkens this dim day. 

A place to rest in, tender sense of love, 
The heart that seeks still finds, — whate'er ye 

prove. 
Lip-speech, earth-lore, that men account so 

wise, — 
Still in the dark hears lovers' sweet replies, 

All heedless of the distance that divides. 
Since in all space the lover's soul abides, 
And knows and trusts the heart against its 

own, 
As heart by tongue to heart is ne'er made 

known. 

Sing, then, thy song, heart whose beat 1 

hear : 
She is not far when thought of her is near. 



A Lost Boy. . 13 

And she must hear thy singing over all 
That world-lore saith or foolish lips let f\ill. 



A LOST BOY. 

Where is the boy I used to know — 
My oldest comrade, nearest kin — 
In the bright lost land of Long Ago, 
Where all boys longed, with me, to grow 
To height of men, and the gold to win 
That we count dross in the land I'm in? 

A thousand times I've wished I knew. 
Thinking back with sore, sad heart, 

Where that dear comrade wandered to. 
He did'nt die ; what did he do, 

( I ask), when he and I did part, 
And I came on to this land of art? 

I never knew (it seems most strange) 
The time we parted, — what we said; 

Only know there's a wondrous change, 
And often wonder where he did range, 



14 Htarfs Oivii. 

And (luestion oft if he be dead; — 
For I haven't seen him since I fled 

The land where we were one, and went 
Through the common fields with hearts of 

joy, 

Nor dreamed of parting, or discontent 

In the long, long days I here have spent, 
When I should question for him — lost boy. 

child ! have you found all gold alloy ? 

T see him yet in that far-off land, 
And he and I in that land are one ! 

If he never returns, I shall see him stand 
With his fresh bright eye and his fair soft 
hand. 

In the long, long past; and when that is gone, 

1 may see him where all unto each are 

known ! 



Dying (it Eighty. 15 



DEFENSE. 

When shadows of base thoughts upon me 
8teal, 

My soul her silvery-gleaming shield uprears, 

And every shade darts back to where 'twas 
born. 

In that dark world whence all death's shad- 
ows come. 

Love is that shield, and heaven, whence it 
came, 

Doth reen force it with its own pure light. 

So shall it brighten in the years to be, 

No shade of sin shall dare my soul assail. 



DYING AT EIGHTY. 

JiLY 14, 1886. 

Where art thou now, Friend 
So near thy journey's end? 
Hear'st thou through dream the song 
Thine ears have waited lone;? 



16 Heart's Own. 

Seest thou Christ's face and theirs 
AVho've climbed the heavenly stairs ? 
Feel'st thou new life and power, 
Perpetual youth thy dower? 

Or art thou dead to all 
Sweet sounds from heaven let fall? 
And seest no face or form, 
Nor feel'st or cold or warm, 
Bead as men seem to those 
Who watch their last repose? 

^Once thou wert strong and glad; 
<Once thou didst hear and see. 
And feel life's good and glee, 
xVnd none for thee were sad. 
For all were glad loith thee. 

Some went the same strange way 
Thou goest; none came back 
To tell us if their track 
Lay through the night or day, — 

If silence as in sleep 

Held them fast-bound awhile. 



Dying at Eighty. ^7 

And then they woke to smile 
With those who used to weep, 
Now free from pain and guile;— 

Or if they went to heaven, 

And, conscious of new rest, 

In end of all their quest, 

Found that for which they'd striven : 

Life of and with the blest ; 

Or if they went to dust. 
Voiceless and sightless, reft 
Of all man's glory, left 
In old Death's hold and trust, 
Of Life's dear body cleft. 

And now, while thou go'st out 
As theij went, where the shout 
Of comrades we ne'er hear. 
And only dream them near,— 
We wonder how and where 
Thou farest— here or there. 
Yet, though we knew thee well; 
We shall not hear thee tell. 

Where thou art now, kind heart, 



18 Heart's Oicn.. 

None knoweth but in part ; 
But on what journey gone, 
Well knoweth every one. 
Hecu' thou at length the song 
Thine ears have waited long! 
See thou Christ's face and theirs 
Who've climbed the heavenly stairs L 
Feel thou new life and power, 
Perpetual youth thy dower! 



ON A FRIEND'S RETURN. 

O FACE that dims all dreams ! 
Time stops to give thee place ! 

Rare lily of life's streams, — 
Still lives the olden grace ; 

Still, in thy mouth's bright gleam.- 
Still, in thine eyes I trace 
Such love as neither space 
Nor time can e'er efface. 



Robed in thine olden guise, 
Lookest thou on me here ;, 



Inheritance. 10 

Uncliangcd in any wise, 

Dead to each vanished year, 

'Live to all lover's ties. 

Friends fade and disappear ; 
Still may I hold thee dear. 
Faithful thouiih far or near ! 



INHERITANCE. 

The space of the greatest of earth 
Doth shrink to a little dark dwelling 

T^ot they but a greater doth keep, 
In spite of their stoutest rebelling. 

AVhen I saw them lie down at Death's call, 
Poor tenants that late w^ere proud keepers, 

And heard the vast multitudes moan 

At the change that had come to the 
sleepers, 

I thought of the word of the Lord, 

And I longed that the living might fear it: 

^' The meek are the blest," saith the word, 
^' For they shall the kingdoms inherit." 



20 Tlearfs Own. 



LOVE'S FAITHFULNESS. 

Love hid himself from me so many days., 
I felt myself abandoned ; sick at heart 
That one I counted true should leave me so^ 
I thinned, and fevered, and complained, and 

wept; 
jMy world became a dark, wild-rolling cloudy 

presaging storm ; 
When, lo ! one day dear Jen came up to me,, 
And turning her bright eyes full up to mine, 
And touching her sweet lips against my 

own, — 
Mine, parched with Love's long absence, 

fain to turn 
Back into mold, — gave me a clasp 
Of those rich lips, oft-kissed in dear Love's 

day, [youth. 

That brought Love back in all the bloom of 
He had not died ; nor fled so far away 
But that one icord might bring him back 

to m3, — [ days, 

But one long kiss, like those in Love's first 
Might bring him in the beauty of his youth !. 



When Need is Greatest. 21 



LOSS AND SALVATION. 

When the ship went down in the sea, 
One soul drank the sea to his death, 
Because there was none underneath 

To hold him up where Life was free, 
And the sea could not rob him of breath. 

And musing on his destiny, 

I thought, Never one of Christ's crew 

That are beating up Life's troubled sea, 

But the Lord will bring with him, saith he, 
When the heavenward journey is through. 



WHEN NEED IS GREATEST. 

When need is greatest, 
Heaven is nearest. 

Tliou that to the soul appearest, 
And its thirst satest 

From thy full fount, 
To thee at earliest beam and latest 

1 mount — I mount! 



22 Heart's Oicn. 



A FADED FLOWER. 

If in my heart the love 
I once confessed to you, 
And fancied deep and true, 
Should blossom out anew, 

And I its worth should prove, 

Would I confess again? 
Ah ! Love in youth is blind 
Bereft of half its mind: 
It dreams it loves, to find 

At length dream-love is vain. 

Some color won its eye , 
Some turn of head or foot ; 
A smile, or signal mute 
Of fondness ; or pursuit 

Congenial ; or some sly 

Sweet token wrong-construed. 
Love fancies easily ; 
And ere a week goes by 
'Twill for its object die, — 

Said I not that I would ? 



A Faded Flower, 23 

I thought I loved thee true ; 
I would have died for thee. 
To-day where thou mayst be 
I do not know: how free 

I feel ! I love — not you ! 

The love that in an hour 
Within me blossomed so 
Is dead ; how it did glow, 
And set its leaves for show ! 

'Twas but a passion-flower ! 

'Tis dead ; and not again 
Shall I its bloom behold ; 
Dead, and gone into mold ; 
Like fancies manifold, 

That, dying, gave no pain. 

And should it bloom anew. 
It would so fragile seem, 
Like as a bloom of dream, 
And not of Love's pure stream, 

I'd say no word to you ! 



Heart's Own. 



BARRIERS. 

If fear of death would die, 
And love of truth increase, 

Far-oiF desire come nigh, 
Distrust and anger cease, 

How would the soul upmount 
As on an eagle's wings, 

Drink from a heavenly fount, 
And sing as seraph sings ! 

But while we droop with fear, 
And tremble with distrust. 

Desire comes never near, 
Against our loves we lust ; 

We cannot lift our souls 

Beyond these self-built bars : 

And ours are earthly goals, 

Who thousrht to reach the stars f 



Reunion, 25 



REUNION. 

If all are " here," it little matters : 

Who fought and died have found it well : 

The grave nor censures nor yet flatters ; — 
And here is heaven, and here is hell. 

Who fought and live have grown the wiser ;. 

They love so well their friends and foes, 
They feel alike to giver, miser. 

The sense of debt that each man owes. 

Who live or sleep, if all forgiven. 

If here or there, have had life's best : 

To meet on earth, or e'en in heaven. 
Would not be joy, wouM not be rest. 

If all are "here," it little matters: 

Who fought and died have found their 
own; 

Nor can Death deal, as shot that scatters, 
A blow that leaves a brave alone ! 



26 Heart's Own, 



A PRAYER. 



O Love that hast no equal, make me meek ! 

That with new eyes thine image I may see, 

And know how far thy kindness unto me 
Exceeds the love of them that their love 

speak ! 
Help me to grow in strength, who am so weak, 

By service great or small, as pleaseth thee. 

I care not, now, to stand with royalty, 
But where I am, thy pleasure would I seek. 

Now to go forward, and look not behind ; 
Now to reach out and lead the wanderer 

back ; 
Now more to heed the light on mine own 
track. 
Nor spy for sins whereto I should be blind, 
Would I, God : but I in vain must seek 
This way or that till (hou hast made me 
meek. 



An Old Story. 



AN OLD STORY. 

" GoOD-BY, dear," I heard him !^ay 
Just before he went away : 
Words that, said some earher year. 
With a lover's youthful cheer, 
Would have sounded, oh, how sweet ! 
But to-day, though they repeat 
Sense of love as deep as then. 
Seem like words of other men 
On his partner's ear to fall — 
Empty ceremonial ! 

And I said, with sinking heart. 

So our early dreams depart ! 

Who to hearts can e'er restore 

That which, fled, returns no more ? 

Who can resurrect a trust 

That is buried in the dust ? 

Who, when Pride usurps the place 

That was meant for Love to grace, 

Can receive with olden cheer 

From her mate, '' Good-by, my dear"? 



28 Heart's Oicn. 



THE THINGS A LITTLE CHILD 
CAN DO. 

The things a little child can do 
Are never great and always few ; 
But those that men grown great pursue 
( Remember when your life looks blue ) 
Are those to whose pursuit they grew 

From doing smallest duties ; 
And this is what I'd say to you 

I love so well, my beauties : 

The faithful doer of little things — 
Though it be but winding broken strings- 
Shall one day sit by side of kings 
(Not kings with crowns and diamond rings- 
Kings of 80vl)\ for the mighty springs 

From the weak, and true pursuing 
Of the little work the present brings 

Will fit you for kingly doing. 



Siienf Trust. 29 



SILENT TEUST. 

In this loud strife, where tongues and swords 
prevail, 
I, who would surely win the victory, 
Need not to fear the foes that me asail, 
For, though I seek my armor silently, 
My God doth fight with me. 

In that still hour when, life's worst foes 
o'ercome, 
I seek the rest that follows victory ; 
I shall not fail to find my welcome home. 
Although as silent, then, my lips may be — 
My God will watch for me ! 

He who, in strife, or in the peace of death, 
Knows who is his, and who his enemy, 

Looks at the heart, and never at the breath ; 
And, though I pray, or though I silent be. 
Fights, leads, and rests with me ! 



30 Heart's Own. 



A RHYME OF DUTY. 

There was never loss so great 

As of sense of debt to all. 

Let the suffering selfist call, — 
Lacking thee, meet whatso fate ; 

Evil only can befall 

By neglect of due to all. 

Singly every man must die, 
Singly live, and singly strive ; 
But to all that are alive, 

Not to friend or enemy, 

Must he of his treasure give, — 
Help the world, not one, to thrive. 

So, alone, is self preserved, — 
Not by toilsome penury : 
Giving out will bring to thee 

All thy loving gifts deserved, 
Build thee up in charity. 
Help all men along with thee. 



The Lost Messenger. 31 



A DAY. 

It came in blackness shrouded, 
And all my spirit clouded ; 
And, till its dreaded form went. 
It filled my soul with torment ! 

But when it had departed, — ■ 
Such glory it imparted ; 
Such glimpses it revealed 
Of what it had concealed 

Beneath its grim apparel — 
I saw that I might bear well 
All pain of soul and spirit 
Its beauty to inherit ! 



THE LOST MESSENGER 



Where he fell, none know — none care;- 
He was bearing the banner of love : 

And to know that he bore lover's share 
Is enough — till we meet him above ! 



32 Heart's Own. 



LOVE'S DEATH. 

Bow thy head ; 
Let naught be said ; 
Not man is dead, 
But Love. 

When tears are shed, 
Some heart has bled 
For one who's fled 

Above ; 

Its hope is sped : 
Uneomforted, 
It mourns as dead 
Its Love. 

But when Love's dead- 
woful stead ! — 
Hearts silent tread 
Life's groove; 

For no tear shed, 
And no word said, 



A Song of God's Comfoit. 38 

One more than dead 
Can prove. 

Bow thy head ; 
Let naught be said ; 
Not man is dead 
But Love. 



A SONa OF GOD'S COMFORT 

When thought of loss brings tears, 

And sorrows grow more sore, 
In vision rare appears 

The Lord that I adore : 
His wordless peace is nearest, 
My thought of Him is dearest, 
"When earthly lot is drearest, 
And fled the dreams of yore. 

And if thy youth's hopes fade. 
Thy manhood's vigor wane, 

Love flee, and trust's betrayed, 
And life yield 'neath the strain; 



34 Heart's Ouon. 

Still, when thy case is sorest, 
The Lord whom thou adorest, 
O soul that vain implorest 
Man's aid, will thee sustain. 



TO D. G. R. 

KossETTi ! I, who know thee not, but may 

Some day when I can trace to thine abode, 

Would tell thee how like water when the 

road 

Is parched that I have followed all the day, — 

No brook in sight that might my thirst 

allay, — 

Is that sweet stream that from thy spirit 

flowed. 
Ah ! many a freshened soul to thee has 
owed 
The slake of thirst that kept him on his way, 
And visions of the heavenly home of Love 
That in thy liquid draughts so bright 
appear. 
Thy " Damozel" still leaneth from above ; 



The Wanderer. 35 

Thy '• Lost Days" are our own : thy soul 

is near. 
The chaste, new beauty of thy verse 

hath grace 
To make us long some day to see thy 

face. 



A VICTOirS MESSAGE. 

O LIVING men and dying ! 

The way to conquer death 
Is not by weak defying, 
Nor cowardly complying, 

But by a joyful breath, 
AVith all life's colors flying! 



THE WANDERER. 

I AM not hard to please, although I dis- 
contented be ; 

A little loving company were all the world 
to me .' 



36 Heart's Own. 



A WANDERER'S PRAYER. 

What can I do without Thee? 
What, but deny and doubt Thee ? 
Master ! guide me to thy feet ; 
And make my life with Thine comclete. 

Teach me Thine own humility ! 
Mine eyes are blurred ; I cannot see 
How like the world my soul has grown 
Since I have been these years alone. 

Give sight, as in Thine earthly days 
Thou gav'st it to the outer phase. 
And make me, seeing self anew, 
To Thee return, to Thee be true. 



ATTITUDE. 

Teach the teachers ; but with humility 
Give heed to all ; — the least can still teach 
thee! 



To a FcUorc- War Jeer. 37 

TO A FELLOW-WORKER. 

Spread not thyself; but know the second's 
grace, 
The moment's beauty— aye, the moment's 

power : 
The crown of all perfection's m some 

hour, — 
And all the minutes in the century's space 
Some great work grew in, hold fore'er their 
place : — 
If their part fell fall'n were the glorious 

tower ! 
Nor count thy gift as small beside another's 

dower : 
None ever wrought to purpose in disgrace 

With his own eyes; but men most small, 

To the world's sight, have wrought, in modest 

thought. 

So nobly that at length the tongues of all 

Have praised them with a praise they never 

sought. 
All's thine, Soul! time's long;— each 
moment full ; 



38 Hearts Oicn. 

Work with thy might,, and leave no spacet: 
dull! 



THE RECALL. 

Come back to me ! 

Oh let me feel thy heart 
Close-pressed to mine as in the days of 
wooing ! 
Stand here by me, 

And know thyself a part 
Of all the life I live, and all that I'm pursuing. 

All I have lost, 

Love, since thou wert near. 
Then will return, and thou be more than ever ! 
Love that's been crossed 
May yet have title clear 
To lasting life, and thou and I ne'er sever ! 



TransgressioiK 30 



TRANSGRESSION. 

What wisdom hatli he gained who knowt^ 
the bound, 
And pays it faithful heed, where glee 

should end, 
Allegiance terminate twixt friend and 
friend, 
Or toil-strife cease, — to leave the spirit 

sound ! 
Through every hour do sorrow's moans 
resound, 
Repentance and resolve their voices blend, 
Because herein the sons of men oifend ; 
And hearts are hourly cursed that else were 
crown'd, 
Because to play, or fincied love, or need, 
They gave their souls, nor thought of aught 
beside 
Till roused at last to find their only meed 
Sea-apples dead, — and loss of soul abide. 

So easy is it to transgress the line 

Of righteousness, when {cvf indeed decline ! 



40 Heart's Own, 



vanishp:d lights. 

They who've gone out, that once did shine 
on me, 
And in whose sight I gloried more tnan 

sun, 
Cannot their shining have forever done, 
Nor I have ceased fore'er their Hght to see. 
Somewhere, when I, like them, no more 
shall be 
To any outward sense of any one 
That still lives on, shall I not in their sun 
My spirit bathe, that mourns them ceaselessly? 

The love of life, for life's own sake, is strong; 

The love of truth and God grows day by 

day: 

But, loving life, and truth, and God, I long 

(Whatever new stars greet me on my way) 

For the old lights that left me in the dark, 

With but this hope their trackless way to 

mark. 



To a Rosen Remains. 41 



TO A HOSE'S REMAINS. 

O SWEET wild rose, 
Thy seemiDg death 

Is an immortal memory ; — 
Thy life outgoes 
To meet the breath 

Of souls that in all life to be 
Shall see thee from thy thorn-bush 
free, 
Where blossom never withereth, 
But beauty blows, — 
No thorn beneath, — 

In endless fields eternally, 
A.nd music flows 

With fragrant breath 

In spirit seas of harmony. 

Mourn not that thou thy shape must 
lose, — 
We, too, must lay our vesture by ; — 
Nor grieve if in thy dwelling high 
Thou find'st no rose — there all sweets- 
fuse — 



42 flenrfs Own. 

No beauty for an earthly eye ; 
Thou shalt be safe from storm and bruise, 
And share our immortality ! 

TN MAY. 

Who cannot be content in crowds of men 
Should take him, in the May-days, to the 

fields, 
And, where the wall shuts out the rasping- 
wind, 
Lie in the sun, and watch the rising earth. 
There is a sense of kinship in the soul 
AVith'every stone and every solid thing ; 
And, sheltered by a wall in sunlight lying, 
List'ning to far-off birds, that dart o'er fields 
New-cut by plows, on to their leafy homes, 
And watching mellowing sod and warming 

water, 
Fills us with cheer, and hope of better days. 
While kings are sad, and slaves see only 

death, 
Thou by the wall art raised to such a height. 
The woe of life's unfelt, its joy alone appears. 



Criteria. 43. 



CRITERIA. 

.To every one this mandate comes at last : 
Choose thou the standard thou wouldst 

be judged by ! 
And every one does choose, for, though we 

% 

All others' sight, we cannot fly hhu past 
Who speaks and earth dissolves or else stands 
fast ; 
Nor, — free as air to choose or low or high, — 
Can any drown or silence that breast-cry ;, 
Then, having chosen, each will often cast 
Such censure on his soul for his base choice, 
Will so reproach him that he could be proud 
To be thus judged e'en by the low and 
vain. 
That, should he dare to give his thought a 
voice. 
Both low and high would own their guilt 
avow'd. 
And long to choose (as choose they 
might !) again. 



44 Heart's Own. 



WAITING FOR LOVE. 

I'll wait for thee, love unseen, 

Of whom I've dreamed, for whom I've 
planned. 
Let whatso distance intervene 
Thy darling soul and mine between ; 
Love's language we can understand — 
Love's wire extends from land to land. 

I know that thou wilt come to me 

When tides are fair and skies are bright ; 
And, thinking of the days to be, 
My heart, once weak with misery, 
Grows strong with rapturous delight. 
Come, — early, late, — welcome sight ! 



After the. Vanishing. 45 



AFTER THE VANISHING. 

My life, that late did glitter like a star 
Gold-red and full, 
In Love's blue firmament, 
Since she that lit it so hath gone so far, 
Lies shrunk and dull. 
Its spirit well-nigh spent! 

Heart of Light, that givest all their glow, — 
Maker of skies 
And all the stars that shine ! 
In the new heavens shall not that spirit 
show, — 
Lit by those eyes, 
Shall not th' old joy be mine? 



46 Heart's Own. 



ON A GLIMPSE. 

(FROM MY WINDO W IN MA Y.) 

O SHINING grass and shining sky, 
Together gleam ! — for those who die 
Some other grass and sky may shine. 
But those who grieve and those who pine 
Need look on ye when graves are green, 
To know life's road is lined with sheen ! 

Shine on, to show incessantly 

Some token of the glow to be ! 

Shine, that the joy that liveth yet 

In men may overcome regret, 

And that all hearts may know how fair 

The world that lies beyond despair ! 



A Prisoner. 47 



A PRISONER. 

In Poverty's dark cell I sit, 

But God's rich skies above me shine, 
And beams my face with joy divine, 

For with his love my heart is lit. 

Am I not king, to him who owns 
The little kingdoms of the earth ? 
A loving heart hath greater worth 

Than any king's dominions 1 

In Poverty's dark cell I sit. 

And gaze upon the heavenly faces 
That bid me to those luminous spaces 

Through which, at length, my soul shall 
flit. 



48 Heart's Oimi. 



IN THE HOLLOW OF THY HAND. 

The living or the dead 

Who rest, God, in Thee, 

Need not a castle bed 
Or gates' security : 

Guests of the King, indeed ! 

All others are but slaves, 
Wear they the monarch's weed. 

Or lie in guarded graves. 



THE GIFT OF YEARS. 

The Years that came and left me, one by one, 

Brought me a gift that I may keep forever; 

The sense that Time's a stream that's never 

run. 

That Love's the greatest force beneath the 

sun. 

And God from Man not God himself can 



Remembered. 41) 



REMEMBERED. 

1 CANNOT hear the wind's voice sigh, 

But through it all I hear her sighing; 
I cannot watch the sunshine lie 

On dew'd green fields, but her smiles 
vying 
In my young heart ; I cannot feel 

The south-wind's kiss, but still all through 
me 
Runs that sweet thrill I used to feel 

Whenever she came nearest to me ! 
I cannot smell the sweetest rose 

June brings as gentle Summer's suitor. 
But all around her being glows, 

And perfume sheds than rose-breath 
sweeter ! 

She is not dead ; she cannot die ! 

God doth in fairest mansions keep her ; 
And while she lives in memory, 

I will not mourn, I cannot weep her ! 



, 50 Heart's Own. 



IF THOU SHUTTEST THINK EAR- 

If thou shuttest thine ear 

To the meaningless din 
Of the world, thou canst hear 

A fit song to join in 
From Eternity clear ; — 

A song of his word 
That is sung day and night, 

And by spirit-ear heard 
From the Infinite Height : 

" Be strong in the Lord, 
And the pow'r of his might!" 



A MOTTO. 

Whoever you are, and whatever you do, 
Here's a good motto for you to pursue : 
In the dark, 

In the light, 
In the peace, 
In the fight, 
Merry and true — Merry and true!. 



Confidence. 51 



CONFIDENCE. 

I WILL not fear what Love may do. 

Fill not my mind with thoughts of fear ! 

Why should I fear, when I can hear : 
" Heart's own is true ! Heart's own is true" ? 

Some written word may mystify, 
Or lack in gentleness of sound ; 

But I can trust that charity 

Which never gives or takes a wound. 

And so I banish thought of fear, 

And wait for Love's expression new : 

The old words dear that greet my ear : 
^' Heart's own is true ! Heart's own is 
true!" 



52 Heart's Own. 



GROWTH. 

The river that I knew, a child, 

How wide and deep its waters seemed !: 
To-day I saw the stream, and smiled ! 

Had air absorbed it, or I dreamed ? 

The house that was my childhood home, 
How high its roof-tree used to be ; 

But now how shrunken seems its dome. 
How short the stairs once climbed by me. 

80 shrink the things of sense and time, 
While those of life eternal grow ; 

The things we dreamed not of, sublime , 
Replacing things we used to know. 



Wordsworth. 53 



WORDSWORTH. 

Wordsworth, who drank of truth and love 
As men drink water, from the heavenly 
springs ; 
Who, while he walk'd the earth, with head 
above 
Sang heaven-sweet of earth's unhonored 
things ; 
And showed, as none had ever shown before. 
That God and man are one, though far 
apart, — 
Wordsworth still points man upward as of 
yore. 
And leads the way with pure and patient 
heart ! 



54 Heart's Oivri. 



HEARING. 

" Take heed how ye hear."' 

In silence, and apart from other men, 

When Grod's great voice some waiting soul 

had heard. 
Were writ those words of might that so 
have stirred 
The hearts they touched that they have lived 

since then ' 
What heed give such to word of tongue or pen 
Spoke in God's name, whene'er the world 

has erred. 
Or he some trying duty has conferred, 
And many hear not — listening unto men ! 

In silence still, and from all souls apart. 
Must thou attend to hear his message great. 

Or not to thee will God the charge impart 
Whereby to wake the sleepmg church or 
state : 

Who dimly hears the message of his Lord 

Can never be entrusted with that word. 



Shelter . 55 



SHELTER. 

To feci, when the winds arc wild, and full of 

keen drawn swords, 
The shield of a wayside house, or a great 

high fence, or a wall, — 
Ah, that is joy, fair friend, who sittest in 

parlors warm. 
And knowest but what men tell of the hard 

ship of wind and storm: — 
Joy above all thy feasts, thy greetings ot 

fondest friends, — 
Above (if I read aright the writing in 

mine own heart) 
Thy dearest posiVtre joy; for, negative 

though it be, 
'Tis a symbol of other joy, so strong and 

comforting. 
That my heart would be cold as the winds, 

and this shelter a blank to me. 
If Grod's great love should depart! 



56 Heart's Own. 



A THOUGHT AFTER A PETITION. 

What though we hear no voice 
In answer to our prayer ? 
Something subdues despair, 
Something directs our choice, 
And we are led as we had sought, 
" In word, in action, and in thought." 

O soul that waitest still 
To hear the Voice Divine; 
As on the printed line 
Thou look'st to find God's will. 
Look at thy life, and there find wrought 
The blessing that thy lips have sought. 



PRAISE. 

Who praises thee as true man, praises Truth : 
Pass that word on to hfA\^ ambitious youth I 



Provision. 



PROVISION. 

My thought goes o'er and o'er 
To those who think no more — 
(rone strangely out of sight, 
And hushed in death's still night. 

Loves still remain, but they 
Who've left me on the way 
Seem dearer since they've gone 
Thau these who still live on. 

I know them better now ; 
Lives in the darkness show 
Their whiteness best; and near^ 
One cannot see them clear. 

Ah, if in that weird light 
The vanished had their sight, 
How would our lives appear 
Who keep our dwelling here? 

I cannot quite assent 
To silent banishment — 



58 Heart's Own. 

To senseless, soulless rest; 
Yet I would count that best, 

Knew I that I might choose 
My state; — I would refuse 
A state on earth wherein 
I might behold the sin 

That smirches my beloved. 
While to their sight I proved 
But pure and true. God's love 
Makes no such state above ! 

friends long lost and still 1 

1 cannot know your will 
As once I knew ; but I 
Can leave you trustfully 

In his great care who gave 
The ground to hold your grave- 
What I could do for you 
Were poor when God doth do. 

And if ye still have sense 
Of his vast providence, 



The Wahcned Heart. 5^ 

Or if ye senseless lie, 
Ye're one with us, and I 

Nor ye shall be alone, 
Since Grod and we are one. 
So, calm is in my heart, 
And I would its peace impart, 

When my thought goes o'er and o'er 
To those who think no more — 
Gone strangely out of sight. 
And hushed in death's still night. 



THE WAKENED HEART. 

In youth a matchless melody, 

That now I prize so dear. 
Its answering chord found not in me, 

Its notes I could not hear. 

But now I feel a joy complete 

The loving only know. 
For day and night heaven's music sweet 

Beats on me here below. 



60 Heart's Own. 



TWO GROWTHS. 

Who lives a life of love outvies 
The soul that measures life by creed, 

As roses in a garden rise 
Above the thriftless weed ; 

For loving souls, set in such ground 
They grow, and fruit and fragrance yield, 

In more than King's array are crowned, 
Like lillies of the field. 



THE KING'S DAUGHTER. 

When I was born, to me was given 
Title to all in earth and heaven ; 

My wealth's unspent; 
Though Fortune's wheel go up or down, 
It cannot rob me of my crown : 

I am content ! 



Grant. Gl 



GRANT. 

He was not earth's commander — as we 
know. 
Some victories of great renown he gained; 
O'er mighty hosts he triumphed, and 
maintained, 
Where others ran, the flag against the foe ; 
"What, more than other mortals, could he 
show 
When Nature of her broken law com- 
plained ? 
What slave so abject, soul and body 
chained, 
When Evil Habit bade him come and go ? 

But when the King of Evil, Lord of Death, 
Began the siege against his purged soul, 
He found the great Commander in control. 

And, with his utmost,could but take his breath ! 

So he who oft on earth was slain in strife 

Hath won the grander fight 'twixt Death 



and Life. 



1)2 Heart's Own. 

A WORD TO 0. W. H. 

{On His Election as First Immortal.) 

[prom a dkleoation of his COXSTITVEXTS.J 

Dear Dr. Holmes: Though we are late, 

We hope you'll let us through your portal, 
For we would fain congratulate 
You on your quite exclusive fate 
Of standing as the First Immortal ! 

We hope ('tis all we've come to say, 

For though you've time enough to hear us, 
As mortals long we cannot stay) — 
With stories like '-The One-Hoss Shay " 
We hope you'll never cease to cheer us ; 

And rhymes like those at college dinners, 
With tales of comet-ary visions, 

And yarns, of which you're chief of spinners; 

(For had we thought — we're selfish dinners — 
You'd drop your pen for "higher" missions, 



Living Waters. 63 

We'd let you rattle on with those 

Who still, like us, are common mortals). 
So still with witty verse and prose 
Make light of mortals' fancied woes, 
Thou greatest of the Great Immortals! 



LIVING WATERS. 

When I would drink an everlasting draught. 
I lock my doors to all the world's mixed 

drinks. 
Cease aught to care what any neighbor 
thinks, 
And, all-alone as Adam when he quaffed 

Eden's pure water, I drink in the thought 
Of that great love which hath all beings 

wrought 
With such desire for its own perfectness, 
The more they drink, they yet desire no less. 



64 Heart's Own. 



INFLUENCE. 

As Holy Spirit walks with each, 

And, silent as ourselves in thought, 
Moves us to do the things we ought 
With tenfold force of angel's speech, 
While rarely we the Power discern , 
So with us walk revered and loved, 
And, though nor tongue nor hand is 
moved. 
Our minds they guide, our feet they turn. 
And force that else we might have dared 
Impels to acts we dreamed not of. 
Who of his weakness needeth proof 
May find it here. Who feels prepared 
To stand alone against the world's loud scorn, 
Should see that he from all mankind has torn. 



Mary. 65 



xAIARY. 



All the maids have died but one, — 

She will live forever ; 
In the Land of Love, the sun 

Setteth, fadeth never ! 

Maidens pure and lovers true 
Long the world has boasted, 

But the maid that first we knew, 
Lover first we trusted — 

Still the world holds none so dear; 

Nor to us shall any 
(Though maids be for many a year, 

And lads be for many). 

Dwell apart, star-souled and rare, 

While the fickle vary. 
Like the maid that used to care 

For us with name of Mary. 



66 Heart's Own. 



HOPE. 



Thy heart, God ! is niiae, 
Truest of all that love ; — 

But mine's not wholly Thine, 
Or it would truer prove. 

Uut since thy heart is mine. 
And Thou dost love for aye, 

Mine shall be wholly thine 
When earth's loves fall away, 



ON SEEING A BOY PLAYING 
CLAPPERS. 

glee! in a little boy's face, 

In his hands, in his feet, in his heart ! 

Should life set his soul such a race. 

That from hands and from feet thou de- 
part 
As they yield to Life s spiritless art, — 
O spirit, still stay in his heart ! 



Christmas Morning. 67 

CHRISTMAS MORNING. 

What other day from year to year 
So fills the souls of men with cheer ; 
What memories are half so sweet 
As those that in devotion meet, 
On Christmas morning? 

The dawn upon the world's long night 
Of him God sent to give it light 
Hath spring of joy and blessedness 
That faileth not nor groweth less, 
On Christmas morning. 

I cannot hear the Christmas chimes, 
Or list to Christmas singers' rhymes, 
But tenderer my spirit grows, 
And gladness all my speech o'erflows, 
On Christmas morning. 

I cannot greet or young or old 
But merry wishes manifold 
Return to me; for like my own, 
All hearts appear wide-open thrown 
On Christmas morning. 



68 Heart's Oion. 

Our Christmas days on earth may be 
How few God knoweth — only He; 
Yet may our lives so Christlike grow 
Each day our hearts shall feel ths glow 
Of Christmas morning. 

With Christmas cheer for all the year, — 
A heart set free from care and fear, — 
Our souls may ripe for Advent grow, 
And thus each year more gladness know 
On Christmas morning. 



MAN'S PART. 

To eat and drink and build is all that the 

heavens decree : 
For this were the worlds create, for this 

grows the land, flows the sea : 
And who eats and drinks and builds, like 

to God himself is he, — 
And his is a part of the land, and his is a 

part of the sea. 



The Discovery. 69 



THE DISCOVERY. 

I KNOW, at last, why earth such beaut)^ 
wears, 
Why hearts are tender, and hands reach to 
hft 
The burdens that each says he, only, bears, 
When burden seems our solitary gift; 

Why lives go on that fear had said would end; 

Why loves ford safely streams of sacrifice 

Wherein who fell were lost ; why bright 

hues blend 

When grief-storms pass ; why even homes 

of vice 



Are lit with sunbeams ; and — oh, stranger 
yet! 
Why all this haps to thankless, cursing 
souls : 
Ood,who made all — e'en these who him for- 
get— 
Grod's in the world, and still by love 
controls ! 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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